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tatistically, you can get struck by a tornado in central Oklahoma quick- er than anywhere in the world,” says Doctor Howard Bluestein, profes-

sor of meteorology, University of Oklahoma. And May is the deadliest month. Early set-

tlers to the central plains referred to torna- does as “Storm Kings.”

On May 20, 2013, a funnel wiped out

neighborhoods in Moore, Okla., taking 24 lives and injuring 377. Days later, an EF5 with winds of nearly 300 mph contributed to the toll in the nearby El Reno, Okla., area. An EF5 on the Fujita scale is the fi ercest of all. It was 2.6 miles wide, the largest ever re- corded in the United States, and tracked for 16.2 miles. Only eight EF5s have been re- ported in Oklahoma in the past 60 years. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration (NOAA) documents an aver- age of 1,000 tornadoes a year in America; “Tornado Alley,” a cluster of states centering on Oklahoma, is the bull’s-eye. Oklahoma averages 38 tornadoes annually. “Even for Oklahoma, last May was an un-

usual period for violent tornadoes,” says Rick Smith, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service (NWS) in Norman, Okla. Response to severe weather in Oklahoma resembles an army in combat, ranging from tacticians behind lines to ground soldiers. Peers consider Bluestein one of the most

respected in his profession. A 38-year veter- an, whose research is funded by the National Science Foundation, he specializes in “torna- dogenesis,” the structure of tornadoes and how they develop. His ultimate objective is to provide earlier and more-accurate predic- tions of severe weather. Moore received a 13-minute advance warning. U.S. Rep. Jim Bridenstine of Oklahoma has introduced a bill in Congress to establish funds for research to extend warnings beyond the current 15-minute average. Two NWS forecast offi ces in Oklahoma, one in Tulsa, the other in Norman, issue up- to-date weather reports distributed to police and more than 600 different emergency re- sponders, explains Smith from his Norman operations center. “Our forecasts are available continuously

for TV, radio, the Weather Channel, and the general public.” Networks of “storm chasers” provide the

NWS with further accounts when severe weather threatens. Most are volunteers from organizations like NOAA’s SKYWARN, a program established in the 1970s. More than 300,000 volunteers cover the nation. Among the casualties of the May 2013 storms was Tim Samaras, star of Discovery Channel’s “Storm Chasers.” He is believed to be the fi rst scientifi c storm chaser killed in the line of duty. “There was a big surge of interest in storms after the move ‘Twister’ (1996),” says Lanny Dean, a friend of Samaras’ and a

Larry Dean of Oklahoma-based “Extreme Chase Tours” escorts tourists from around the world to view severe weather. He often serves as a “spotter” for the National Weather Service. Photo by Charles Sasser

Dr. Howard Bluestein, University of Oklahoma professor of meteorology, conducting research on tornadogenesis. Photo by Charles Sasser